THE people of Rugby will help decide the future of the controversial BT masts site on the outskirts of the town.

The development of the site - between Crick, Clifton on Dunsmore and Hillmorton - has been one of the borough's most contentious issues for years, with residents fighting potential plans to build there.

Borough and county councillors are celebrating the decision by Warwickshire County Council that the site's future should be decided by Rugby Borough Council.

Borough council leader Alan Webb, pictured, today welcomed the news and said Rugby people would be fully involved in the process.

Cllr Webb said: "This has taken the pressure off and it's not now a prime plum for picking. Any possible development is a long, long way in the future and it's very much up to Rugby."

The county council yesterday met to adopt the Warwickshire Structure Plan, which outlines development until 2011.

Under the plan, land to the east of Rugby is identified as potential land for housing. This area includes the mast site.

In April, the decision on the site's future was put on hold until July, after county councillor Jerry Roodhouse (Lib Dem, Eastlands), pictured, submitted a 1,400 signature petition against development.

Rugby Borough Council also raised concerns that any decision should be taken locally, under the council's local plan.

Cllr Roodhouse said: "The elected members are now duty-bound to ensure that the local community is fully involved in the process of what is to happen on the site."

BT will decommission the 80-year-old telecommunications site in three years for possible industrial and housing development.

The Environment Agency says the land was prone to flooding and archaeologists say the 1,600-acre site stands within an area of ridge and furrow formed by centuries of repetitive ploughing.

Experts believe it could hide other important historical remains after the foundations of more than 100 Iron Age round houses were found nearby.